SAMIRA BOUAOU/EPOCH TIMES
D1 July 15–21, 2016
Getting Schooled in New Haven on D10
Wagon-Wheel Steak. It’s a recipe for cuts so tough that even running them over with a wagon won’t tenderize them.
www.EpochTaste.com
Cowboy Cookin’ A hint of heat and citrus flavor this slaw.
This delicious Green Pepper Frito Pie reached deep into the very recesses of our childhood memories. Dishes from “A Taste of Cowboy: Ranch Recipes and Tales From the Trail” by Kent Rollins and Shannon Keller Rollins (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015).
elcome to cowboy country. Here, beans are known as “whistle berries,” cooking a pork chop instead of a steak might get you run out of camp, and nobody eats until the cook says so. Kent Rollins cooks on a cast iron stove named Bertha that weighs 385 pounds, and his kitchen rolls into camp on a working 1876 Studebaker wagon. Based in Hollis, Oklahoma, Rollins and his wife, Shannon Keller Rollins, travel in the fall and the spring to far-flung ranches to cook for hardworking cowboys.
See Cowboys on D2
Kent Rollins, from Hollis, Oklahoma, feeds hardworking cowboys. COURTESY OF SHANNON KELLER ROLLINS (KENT ROLLINS; COWBOYS)
By Channaly Philipp & Joshua Philipp | Epoch Times Staff
“The cowboy will always be here as long as there’s cattle somewhere,” Rollins said.
D2
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com COURTESY OF SHANNON KELLER ROLLINS
COURTESY OF SHANNON KELLER ROLLINS
SAMIRA BOUAOU/EPOCH TIMES
(Clockwise from L) Kent Rollins cooks out of his chuck wagon; You-Ain’t-Goin’-to-Believe-This Strawberry Balsamic Pie; “Ice Cream” Pound Cake With Mixed Berries, a dish Rollins created when he appeared on “Chopped: Grill Masters”; Green Pepper Frito Pie. SAMIRA BOUAOU/EPOCH TIMES
Cowboy Cookin’ Cowboys continued from D1
I tell folks I have the best view in the world out my kitchen window. Kent Rollins, cowboy cook
History Grim were the days before the cowboy cook. The man who changed this was the famed cattle rancher Charles Goodnight, who, after serving as a Texas Ranger and fighting in the Civil War, hit the trail and invented something that immortalized him in cowboy song: the chuck wagon. “Chuck” means food in cowboy slang.
RECIPE YOU-AIN’T-GOIN’-TO-BELIEVE-THIS STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC PIE Prep & Cooking Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes Makes: One 9-inch pie • • • • • • • • • •
3 large eggs 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/2 stick butter, melted 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 cup water 1 cup strawberries (thawed if frozen), cut into bite-sized pieces • 1 baked piecrust
DIRECTIONS In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, vanilla, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine 3/4 cup of
the sugar, the brown sugar, butter, vinegar, and water. Cook over high heat until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let sit for 3 minutes. Very slowly whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan. Return the saucepan to mediumlow heat. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens almost to a pudding. Let the mixture cool to warm. Meanwhile, mix the strawberries and the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar in a small bowl. Drain any moisture from the strawberries and stir into the pie mixture. Scrape the mixture into the baked piecrust. Serve the pie warm or at room temperature, or chill it for at least 2 hours before serving. My father-in-law prefers the pie warm, but I like it chilled. Recipe from “A Taste of Cowboy: Ranch Recipes and Tales From the Trail” by Kent Rollins and Shannon Keller Rollins (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015)
CANICULA/SHUTTERSTOCK (ILLUSTRATIONS)
“Are there still cowboys?” asked a friend of ours in all seriousness when she heard about them. When we told Rollins about it over the phone, he laughed and said, “The cowboy will always be here as long as there’s cattle somewhere. “I’ve been in places so remote, cooking on ranches that weren’t on a map and that you sure wouldn’t be able to find on GPS.” No matter where he is, his kitchen is always outdoors. “I tell folks I have the best view in the world out my kitchen window. Mother Nature gives me everything, but she can also take it away from me pretty quick,” he said. Rollins has cooked in storms, in 70-mileper-hour winds, and in 107-degree heat, standing by an open fire to cook. “It can be miserable sometimes,” he said, “but in a way there’s a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that whatever Mother Nature threw at you, you still were able to do the job, because there’s 12 to 13 people on the crew that were counting on you.”
According to Don Edwards, a cowboy singer and folklorist inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame, the average meal before the days of Goodnight was whatever cowboys could fit in a sack or their saddle pockets. “They’d travel lightly and just have what they needed to eat,” he said. Goodnight built the first chuck wagon out of an old military wagon, Edwards said. Along with the chuck wagon arose the more poetic side of cowboy life, as they gained some extra storage space for a fiddle or a banjo. “They’d get together and play a little music in the evening after supper was over,” Edwards said. “That part of the culture is what people thought of as the romantic part of it.” Many of the old cowboy songs, which Edwards dedicated much of his career to gathering, tell of the rambling lifestyle of the cowboy, the satisfaction of hardship, and the beauty of the open plains. Much as city commuters might chat about traffic, conversations turn to the day’s events, like a wayward cow that went off track, for example. “There’s always something funny in the bunch,” Rollins said. According to Waddie Mitchell, co-founder of the Cowboy Poetry Association who worked professionally as a cowboy for 26 years, the cowboy life hasn’t changed much since the old days, and in his experience, the food has always “totally depended on the cook.” Some of the cooks served lots of spaghetti; others served Wonder Bread in place of biscuits. And here and there, they’d get a cook who made mealtime an experience to be savored. “There was a cook we called Big-Nosed Jim, and he was an old casino cook,” Mitchell said. Big-Nosed Jim had a drinking problem, had to get out of town, and then found himself on the trail with the cowboys. As his name suggests, he had a “big ol’ nose” that, when he’d been drinking, “was kind of this big red knob on his face,” Mitchell said. “But he could cook,” Mitchell said, noting Jim’s sourdough pancakes. Cowboy Cooking The heart of cowboy cooking lies in its simple ingredients. Forget about fancy microgreens. As for Rollins, he said he doesn’t need all that much to make a meal happen—with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, jalapeños, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper as his flavorings, he’s set. There is, for sure, a heaping dose of ingenuity. Canned beans, when doctored properly, turn into a lip-smacking, smoky, hearty dish. Raspberry Jell-O provides tartness to an apple crumble. In his cast iron Dutch oven, Rollins churns out dishes that are downright comforting. He shares his recipes in a cookbook written with his wife, Shannon, “A Taste of Cowboy: Ranch Recipes and Tales From the Trail” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015). The book includes recipes for sourdough cinnamon rolls with brown sugar icing for breakfast, Green Pepper Frito Pie for dinner,
Wagon-Wheel Steak for supper, and lots of cowboy wisdom in between. Speaking of the Green Pepper Frito Pie, it’s a dish for which ground beef, onions, and green peppers are simmered in red enchilada sauce (from a can), and then layered with shredded cheddar cheese, which acts as glue for the Fritos on top. When we made it at home, it was met with friends’ cries of “Amazing!” in between sighs of nostalgia. But Rollins’s most requested recipe is actually for his coffee. He wakes up before everyone else, as early as 3 a.m., to get Bertha— which he sometimes calls “a hunk of burnin’ love”—stoked and going, so he can have coffee ready and breakfast on the table around 4 a.m. He recounts in his book how a self-proclaimed coffee snob, after downing several cups, asked him the provenance of his delicious coffee. “I knew it was going to break the poor feller’s heart when I told him Wal-Mart, and that I always serve Folgers,” he wrote. Rollins’s secret is to boil the coffee grounds. It gets rid of the acidity and results in a smooth coffee. It was a technique we put to the test at home recently. In a moment of desperation, we had bought one of the cheapest bags of coffee available from our nearby drugstore. Lo, after a few minutes of boiling the grounds, the coffee was an entirely different creature than we’d expected: silky and eminently quaffable. Rollins has even more coffee tricks up his sleeve. By looking at the bubbles inside the cup as the coffee is poured, he can predict fair or rainy weather. During a cooking class, he peered into a cup and predicted a storm. The next day, everyone was running for shelter from the pouring rain. There really should be an expression like “storm in a coffee cup.” Don’t Mess With the Cook Regardless of the cook, however, mealtime for a cowboy is a very civilized endeavor. Mitchell said that when cowboys set up camp, they also set up a table “and everyone eats halfdignified.” There is a pecking order in the seating arrangement, and cowboys keep to the etiquette of a well-cultured home. While the men would often put their arms down on the supper table and “gobble it up,” Mitchell said, “I never saw bad manners.” He added, “You never sit in another man’s place, and you never reach in front of another man—you’d get a fork in your wrist.” According to Rollins, the cowboys “respect each other, but they respect the cook even more, because when they come to the wagon to eat, that is my territory; that is my house, my home.” There are rules of camp that all hands abide by. For example, don’t ride into camp, or you’ll kick up dust around the cook and the food; and don’t walk through the hallowed ground between the fire and the chuck box—only the cook can go there, according to Rollins. Given the rules of camp, you’d figure no one would be foolhardy enough to challenge a cook like Rollins on his home turf—unless that
D3
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com COURTESY OF SHANNON KELLER ROLLINS
someone is a certain Bobby Flay, who one day showed up with a camera crew. “Bobby said, ‘I heard you cook the best chicken fried steak in the world,’” Rollins recalls. “He said, ‘I’d like to challenge you.’ “I said, ‘Today? In my kitchen?’ “He said yeah. “I said, ‘Welcome to the land of hot and heavy,’ ‘cause it was 97 degrees before we even built a fire. “Bobby said, ‘It’s the hottest I’ve ever been in my life.’ His face got all red. I said, ‘If you’re going to pass out and fall down, don’t fall on the stove.’” You can probably guess who ended up winning this challenge. Rollins has since made appearances now and then on the Food Network.
RECIPE
COWBOY COFFEE
WAGON-WHEEL STEAK
• 3/4 cup coffee grounds
Prep & Cooking Time: 1 hour, and 20 minutes Serves: 5
DIRECTIONS Fill a 3-quart graniteware coffee pot with water to the bottom of the spout. Place the pot over high heat and allow the water to warm. When the water has warmed, pour in the coffee grounds. Let the water come to a good rolling boil. Let boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let sit for about 2 minutes. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup cold water down the spout to settle the grounds. Recipe from “A Taste of Cowboy: Ranch Recipes and Tales From the Trail” by Kent Rollins and Shannon Keller Rollins (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015) COURTESY OF SHANNON KELLER ROLLINS
Learning to Cook Rollins learned to cook from his mother, his grandmother, his aunt, and neighbors. “I never used a recipe. It was always just, you put this, you just put that in it,” he said. Lessons extended far beyond cooking, though. “My mother told me that you cook with your heart. Your hands are connected to your arms, which go to your heart,” he said. There were lean times during his childhood, but the family plates were always full, and he and his siblings were always taught good manners. Apart from cooking, one of the biggest influences in his life has been cowboy heritage: “how you present yourself, how you carry yourself, you take pride in what you do.” For those who aspire to learn his cooking ways and enjoy the simplicity of cowboy life, he and Shannon run the Red River Ranch Dutch Oven and Chuck Wagon Cooking School every spring and fall. But you’d better have patience—it’s booked through 2018.
RECIPE
Some cuts of meat are so tough I couldn’t tenderize them even by running them over with the wagon. But the tougher cuts are always a little cheaper, and that’s how this recipe came to be. I sear the steaks first to hold in their flavors. Then I let the oven do the hard work of tenderizing the rascals. Cooking the steaks slowly in a rich sauce of beef broth, cream of mushroom soup, and onion helps tenderize and flavor the meat even more. Now you have a dish that didn’t break the bank to make.
Dip each steak in the flour mixture until each side is generously coated.
• • • • • • • • •
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt Five 8-ounce sirloin steaks Vegetable oil for frying 1 cup milk One 10.75-ounce can cream of mushroom soup concentrate • One 14.5-ounce can beef broth • 1 large yellow onion, sliced • Salt and black pepper
Pour a thin layer of oil into a large skillet. Heat on high heat until very hot. Add the steaks to the skillet and sear for about 2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.
DIRECTIONS
Cover with tin foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 10 minutes, or until the meat has cooked through and is tender. Serve hot.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly butter an 11-by-13-inch casserole dish or 12-inch cast iron skillet. In a medium bowl, combine 13/4 cups of the flour, the black pepper, seasoned salt, smoked paprika, and garlic salt.
In a medium bowl, combine the milk, soup concentrate and beef broth. Sift in the remaining 1 cup flour and mix well. Pour half of the milk mixture into the casserole dish. Place the steaks in the dish in a single layer. Top with the sliced onion. Pour the remaining milk mixture over the top. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe from “A Taste of Cowboy: Ranch Recipes and Tales From the Trail” by Kent Rollins and Shannon Keller Rollins (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015)
COURTESY OF SHANNON KELLER ROLLINS
Emilia Romagna
IS THE REASON YOU GO TO ITALY CULTURE • FOOD & WINE • CARS • WELLNESS Emilia Romagna is a region in northern Italy, extending from the Apennine mountains to the Po river in the north. Its rich culture has constructed much of what Italy is loved for —refined cities, cars, rich gastronomy, and wellness. Find out what you missed the last time you went to Italy:
VISIT EMILIAROMAGNATURISMO.COM
D4
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com COURTESY OF MOMI RAMEN
IVAN RAMEN AND MOMI RAMEN East Hampton’s Momi Ramen is hosting chef Ivan Orkin (of Ivan Ramen and Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop) for a one night popup dinner. The menu will offer a selection of signature starters from both restaurants and a choice from four ramen dishes. $60 per person.
stuff to eat and drink around nyc
COURTESY OF BROOKLYN KITCHEN
Thursday, July 21 Momi Ramen 221 Pantigo Rd. East Hampton, N.Y. momihamptons.com
Tan Tan ramen.
RUSH JAGOE
D. SHARON PRUITT
COURTESY OF BROOKLYN KITCHEN
Chef John Besh.
JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION’S CHEFS & CHAMPAGNE SUMO STEW The Brooklyn Kitchen is serving up dinner with a side of sumo wrestling at its eighth Sumo Stew evening, held at the Brooklyn Brewery. Attendees can watch matches streamed from Japan while enjoying chankonabe (hearty stew), a staple of the sumo diet, made by chef Philip Gilmour of Moku Moku. The dinner also includes bento boxes filled with bites from local chefs, plenty of Japanese spirits and Brooklyn Brewery draft beer, and cream puffs from Patisserie Tomoko. $50 per person. Tuesday, July 19 8 p.m.–11 p.m. Brooklyn Brewery 79 N. 11th St. Brooklyn thebrooklynkitchen.com
CRAFT BEER JAM The Greene Space is celebrating NYC Good Beer Month with its annual Craft Beer Jam event series, featuring beer tastings, snacks, and conversations with local experts and brewers hosted by Jimmy Carbone of the “Beer Sessions Radio” show. Brewing Like It’s 1776 (July 20) will showcase authentic early American brews, while The ‘New Primitives’ of the Hudson Valley (July 27) will celebrate farm-to-tap ales from the Hudson Valley. $25 per person, per event.
BROOKLYN SCREAMS FOR ICE CREAM
The James Beard Foundation’s annual fundraiser and tasting party, Chefs & Champagne, will feature dishes from a select group of over 40 chefs, served with Champagne Barons de Rothschild, Goose Island beers, and Wölffer Estate wines. The event will honor James Beard Award–winning chef, author, philanthropist, and restaurateur John Besh. $200 to $375 per person. Saturday, July 23 6 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Wölffer Estate Vineyard 183 Sagg Rd. Sagaponack, N.Y. jamesbeard.org/chefsandchampagne
Listen in—and enjoy some samples—as some of Brooklyn’s top ice cream makers discuss the history, mechanics, and future of ice cream in Brooklyn. The panel moderated by historic gastronomist Sarah Lohman will feature makers from Ample Hills Creamery and Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, as well as ice cream historian Laura Weiss. $8 to $12 per person. Thursday, July 28 7 p.m. Brooklyn Historical Society 128 Pierrepont St. Brooklyn brooklynhistory.org
CLAY WILLIAMS
EDIBLE MAGAZINE’S GOOD BEER Edible Manhattan’s Good Beer celebration is heading to the Financial District. The annual beer and food event will pair sips from craft breweries around the city, country, and world with bites from local restaurants and food artisans. $65 to $75 per person. Thursday, July 28 6 p.m.–9 p.m. 180 Maiden Lane ediblemanhattan.com
Wednesday, July 20 & Wednesday, July 27 7 p.m. The Greene Space 44 Charlton St. thegreenespace.org
Traditional and modern, combined. A new standard for Thai food.
The Nuaa
❧
1122 1st Ave. (btw 61st and 62nd streets) 212-888-2899 • thenuaa.com
D5
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com COURTESY OF KINGS COUNTY DISTILLERY
COURTESY OF KINGS COUNTY DISTILLERY
DILLON BURKE
COURTESY OF GASTRONOMIE 491
A sandwich from Gastronomie 491.
Red Velvet Pancakes.
DAVID BURKE FABRICK BRUNCH MENU
TURNSTYLE SUMMER TREATS Vendors at this recently opened underground marketplace have debuted new summer treats to beat the heat. Offerings include Semsom Eatery’s Cold Tabbouleh Salad, with parsley, bulgur, tomatoes, cucumber, and mint; MeltKraft’s Banana Ice Cream Shake with Coconut Flakes and Chocolate Syrup; and Bolivian Llama Party’s Cold Tumbo Juice with Passionfruit and Ginger or Mora (Andean blackberry) and Basil.
Executive chef Michael Franey has launched a new brunch menu for the summer. The seasonal offerings include Pizza for Breakfast, with candied bacon, caramelized onions, Pomodoro, pepper jack, and sunny-side up eggs, and Red Velvet Pancakes, with blueberry ginger compote and cream cheese glaze. Boozy accompaniments include the Bloody Mary, with Skyy vodka, housemade mix, and a pickled vegetable garnish, and the Nuovo, with Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, orange juice, Franciacorta, and rose hip grenadine float.
TurnStyle 59th Street Columbus Circle Subway Concourse turn-style.com
David Burke fabrick At Archer Hotel 47 W. 38th St. davidburkefabrick.com
COURTESY OF BURKE & WILLS
BURKE & WILLS SEASONAL MENU WHISKEY WARS TOUR
The seasonal Australian-inspired restaurant is celebrating summer with a new, produce-drive dinner menu from executive chef Rodrigo Nogueira. The menu features dishes such as the Barramundi with heirloom beans, ginger, and scallions, and the Australian Rack of Lamb with cauliflower, Marcona almonds, and salsa verde. New, Southeast Asia-inspired cocktails by Greg Seider include the Before Too Long with Zu Bison Grass Vodka, lychee, lime and ginger beer, and the Red Right Hand with Four Roses Bourbon, peach bitters, fresh lemon, agave, shiraz float.
Join BLDG 92 and Kings County Distillery on a tour exploring the rich history of whiskey at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center. The tour will discuss whiskey scandals of the past and explore the industry’s resurgence today, with a firsthand look at the yard’s factories and manufacturers. $13.50 to $15 per person. Saturday, July 30 4:30 p.m.–6 p.m. BLDG 92 63 Flushing Ave. Brooklyn bldg92.org
Roasted kangaroo loin with eggplant, spiced yogurt, and confit lemon.
BUCKET & BAY POP-UP SCOOP SHOP Jersey City-based Bucket & Bay Craft Gelato Co. is scooping up their handcrafted, grass-fed milk gelato in front of Hoboken’s BWE Kafe all summer. The after-hours gelato cart will offer its signature Deep Dark Chocolate, made with 71 percent organic chocolate from Brooklyn-based Raaka Chocolate, and a rotating selection of other flavors, from rose-infused Rose Latte to whisky-infused Black Label Vanilla. During the day, BWE Kafe will sell Bucket & Bay gelato pints to go, as well as affogatos and sandwiches.
Burke & Wills Australian Bistro 226 W. 79th St. burkeandwillsny.com
GRAND OPENING (of 2nd location)
Daily through Sept. 5, 7 p.m.–10 p.m. BWE Kafe 1002 Washington St., Hoboken, N.J. bucketandbay.com
COURTESY OF HAKKASAN
Dim sum with cocktails.
HAKKASAN COCKTAIL FLIGHT The Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant is celebrating the opening of its third international lounge, Ling Ling Marrakech, with an “Evolution of Ling Ling” cocktail trio. The flight features three cocktails with flavors inspired by London, Mykonos, and Marrakech: the Bitter Fortune, with Tanqueray No. Ten, Aperol, rhubarb liqueur, pink grapefruit, and lime and peach bitters; the Golden Mare, which adds rosemary and basil to a Bitter Fortune base; and the Chilli Coupette, which adds cardamom and chilli instead. Each cocktail is paired with a piece of signature Hakkasan dim sum. Through Aug. 1 Hakkasan New York 311 W. 43rd St. hakkasan.com
A great meal doesn’t just fill you up.
It’s a journey to sources of pleasure you may have forgotten. Our little gem on 28th street has expanded, and we’re now open on the upper east side as well. Come be our guest. 1466 1st Ave (btwn 76 and 77) (212) 256-0403
2nd Location
157 East 28th Street | (212) 684-7830 momokawanyc.com Open 5pm to 10:45pm Compiled by Annie Wu & Crystal Shi/Epoch Times Staff
D6
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com
FINE DINING
COURTESY OF SMITH FORK RANCH
COURTESY OF THE HOME RANCH
on Dude Ranches By Channaly Philipp| Epoch Times Staff
D
ude ranches offer guests—including city slickers—a vacation filled with rugged natural beauty, with a chance to experience the cowboy lifestyle. Some feature luxurious creature comforts, including fine dining. Depending on their location, the ingredients come from gardens onsite or just down the road. Below are a couple of guest ranches renowned for their ranch-to-table fare. The Home Ranch The Home Ranch, in the Elk River Valley outside Steamboat Springs, is a member of the Relais & Châteaux luxury hotels and restaurants collection. “For a cook, this is paradise,” said executive chef Jonathon Gillespie. “Everything is right here, we know where everything is coming from.” The ranch maintains an extensive garden and a 4,000-square-foot greenhouse. When Gillespie started working in the spring, he met with the master gardener, who asked him exactly what he needed and when he needed it. The area is home to a community of tightknit ranchers; beef served at The Home Ranch is local and grass-fed.
THE NEW AMERICAN TRADITION
A view of The Home Ranch in Clark, Colo. COURTESY OF THE HOME RANCH
Horseback riding at Smith Fork Ranch in Crawford, Colo. COURTESY OF SMITH FORK RANCH
“When you come here, you see the cattle in the pasture, and you know there’s no hormones, no GMOs. You know they’re not being fed garbage, they’re raised on grass, they’re not sent to a feedlot. They’re taken care of,” Gillespie said. Berkshire pork and lamb are also raised locally, and the eggs come from the Home Ranch’s own chickens. “The sense of knowing where your food comes from is really important around here,” he said. Gillespie’s work takes him outdoors sometimes. As guests ride out to a creek for fishing, he prepares to meet them there with a few pans to cook their catch, along with, for example, some potatoes, leeks, and mushrooms. “I’ll give them a hot lunch out there in the middle of nowhere,” he said.
Beside lunch on the trail, The Home Ranch offers fine dining. ens, handmade soaps, and creekside massages make up for the rigors of horseback riding, fly fishing for trout, and shooting sporting clays. The ranch organizes breakfast rides, with a hearty morning meal cooked over an open fire at a riverside camp, as well as “cocktail and cookout” rides. Executive chef Marcus Parrott prepares dishes made with heirloom varietals from the ranch’s organic garden and ingredients from local purveyors. Wine lovers can get a taste of the area’s burgeoning wine scene at the ranch, although the selection of wines is extensive—with over 400 from around the world.
Comfortable beds and fine linens at Smith Fork Ranch make up for the rigors of horseback riding.
Smith Fork Ranch Colorado’s North Fork Valley is home to the West Elks American Viticultural Area, where some of North America’s highest-altitude vineyards are located, and where orchards of cherry, apple, peach, and apricot trees thrive. In the town of Crawford, you’ll find Smith Fork Ranch, an all-inclusive guest ranch. Fine lin-
Openings around NYC
JOSEPHINE ROZMAN
Come try our creative approach to brunch, lunch, and dinner—on Murray Hill.
557 3rd Ave @ 37th Street New York, NY 10016 (212)686-8080 | www.hendriksnyc.com | Follow us
at el Pote
Hearty, Wholesome Food from Old Spain
Chef’s Favorites Sweet Sangria Rich Paella Valenciana Fresh Lobster Bisque Juicy Lamb Chops
718 2nd Ave @ 38th St. www.elPote.com 212.889.6680
Executive chef and owner Jake Novick-Finder began his culinary training at the age of 12 as an apprentice in the pastry kitchen at Chanterelle. Since then, he’s worked at Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, and Ribelle in Brookline, Massachusetts, and now, at age 26, has launched his own restaurant, Gristmill, in Park Slope. The seasonal American restaurant features a rotating menu of savory plates, pizzas, and sweet pies, made with whole grains and local produce in a custom-built, woodburning oven. Novick-Finder sources almost 90 percent of his ingredients from New York state farms, and each cook uses his own individual dough starter, all taken from the same “mother” starter named Daisy. Open for dinner from 5:30 p.m. (closed Tuesdays).
289 Fifth Ave. (between West 30th & West 31st streets) Brooklyn 718-499-2424 gristmillbk.com
Shake Shack
Luke’s Lobster has opened a new location in Gansevoort Market, bringing its sustainable, traceable, ocean-to-plate concept to the Meatpacking District. The eatery is serving up its classic rolls and seafood dishes, made with MSC-certified sustainable seafood sourced directly from its sister company, Cape Seafood, in Maine. Offerings include lobster, crab, and shrimp rolls, served on toasted New England split-top buns with mayo, lemon butter, and spices, as well as a selection of soups and Maine-style sides. The company’s latest ventures also include Luke’s Tail Cart in The Battery, which will offer split, skewered, and open-flame grilled lobster tails served with a homemade dipping sauce; and Luke’s at Tenants Harbor in Maine, which features an extended menu showcasing seafood from the Tenants Harbor Fisherman’s Co-op. Luke’s Lobster founder Luke Holden helped establish the Maine co-op, which will share 50 percent of the restaurant’s profits. Open for lunch and dinner. COURTESY OF LUKE’S LOBSTER
CASTILIAN SPANISH CUISINE
Gristmill
The Beets & Soil dish.
Luke’s Lobster at Gansevoort Market
At the Gansevoort Market 353 W. 14th St. (between Eighth & Ninth avenues) lukeslobster.com
The iconic burger stop is opening a location at Fulton Center in downtown Manhattan. The latest location is serving up Shack classics, along with breakfast sandwiches including the Sausage, Egg N’ Cheese; Bacon, Egg N’ Cheese; and Egg N’ Cheese. It also offers three exclusive frozen custard concretes, including the Cold Fashioned with vanilla custard, banana, salted caramel sauce, and Doughnut Plant old-fashioned glazed cake doughnut. Shake Shack is donating 5 percent of sales from the Cold Fashioned concrete to Partnership for After School Education (PASE), an organization that promotes and supports after-school programs in underserved communities. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
HENRI’s Backyard
At Fulton Center 200 Broadway, Level 2 (at Fulton Street) shakeshack.com
256 Fourth Ave. (between Carroll & President streets) Brooklyn henrisbackyard.com
Binh Douglas of HENRI Hospitality Group has opened a new casual bar and restaurant in Gowanus. HENRI’s Backyard offers 18 locally sourced beers on tap, a full liquor license, and a Vietnamese-German fusion menu of shared plates and entrees, including wild mushroom croquettes, Vietnamese baby back ribs, red quinoa bowls, and banh mi (with German sausage). A secret menu is also available for frequent customers. Open daily from 11 a.m.
Compiled by Channaly Philipp/Epoch Times Staff
D7
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com SAMIRA BOUAOU/EPOCH TIMES
A Sizzling Mexican Party
PLACE TO BEACH at
in Coney Island
W
Place to Beach
SAMIRA BOUAOU/EPOCH TIMES
Instagram: @placetobeach
SAMIRA BOUAOU/EPOCH TIMES
Facebook: facebook.com/ placetobeach
Deliciously Sponsored
1301 Boardwalk W. Coney Island, Brooklyn placetobeach.com Hours Open daily 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
An appetizing Shrimp Ceviche with tangy tomato broth.
Place to Beach will keep you satiated with comforting, party-ready dishes.
SAMIRA BOUAOU/EPOCH TIMES
hen you’re down by the beach, the sunny atmosphere calls for a party. Place to Beach, a Mexican-themed bar and restaurant located on the Coney Island boardwalk, is the ideal venue for a good time. Its large patio space behind the boardwalk entrance is where the party is at. Decked out in a white-and-blue nautical theme and enclosed by wooden fences, the space feels like a seaside getaway from the hustle-and-bustle of the rest of the city. When you look up, you get a superb view of the entire Luna Park amusement park, as well as the fireworks that are lit on Friday nights in the summer. And on weekend evenings, the space turns into a club, with a lineup of DJs and performers providing music and entertainment. Best of all, Place to Beach, operated by CAI Foods (which also runs Cyclone Cafe and Coney’s Cones), keeps the food and drinks coming. Its menu of refreshing frozen margaritas are made with fresh fruit, like cherry, mango, strawberry, and wild açai. To pair with the booze, start off your meal with a cool Shrimp Ceviche, with a tangy tomato broth, baby clams, and peppers ($9.99). The dish will get your palate spiced up and ready for the finger-licking comfort dishes ahead. The Nacho Supreme Chip Bowl is perfect for sharing with a group of friends. A massive heap of guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese, beans, sour cream, and beef makes for maximum chomping ($14.99). Corn-on-the-Cob ($6.99) is another delightful appetizer to munch on, covered in Parmesan, cotija cheese, paprika, and smoky chipotle aioli— with the option of butter or mayo on the side.
The Surf & Turf Burger with crab cake and Angus beef patty.
Place to Beach’s frozen margaritas are made with real fruit juice. LUNA PARK
The party would be incomplete without burgers and tacos. The Quesadilla Burger is an ingenious mashup of Mexican and American classics ($14.99). The Angus beef patty is seasoned with moreish taco seasoning (chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, paprika, and more), then served on a flour tortilla with generous amounts of melted jack cheddar cheese. The Surf & Turf Burger, meanwhile, is a twist on the popular steak and seafood dish, with a smoky beef patty topped with a crab cake ($15.99). The tacos burst with modern American flavors. The Angus beef short rib tacos are forktender, with the texture of barbecued brisket and bits of juicy fat. You can also get tacos with shrimp or pollock. These are lightly breaded and deep-fried, then drizzled with a wasabi aioli, which adds an extra punch (two for $8.99, three for $11.99). Next time you’re down in Coney Island, you’ll find the party at Place to Beach.
Kale Chips, Move Over. Try Making Baked BBQ Zucchini Chips By Melissa d’Arabian It all started with the kale chip. I fell in love the texture of the thick, green leaf made thin and so delicately crisp by baking that it felt almost flaky, with just enough thickness to impart a satisfying little crunch before nearly dissolving into salty-grassy goodness on the tongue. And I wasn’t alone: healthy-conscious eaters crowned the kale chip its unofficial sweetheart and suddenly they were available not just in health-food stores, but in mini-marts, airports, and gas stations. Which led me to ask: What else might we chip-up in a dehydrator or oven? And what other flavors might we add? My daughter’s alltime favorite potato chip is BBQ flavored, so that became my mission—a baked veggie chip that mimicked the BBQ potato chip flavor, with all natural ingredients. In mixing up various spice rubs, we were surprised by how much brown sugar we needed to emulate that characteristic flavor. And then we
struck gold: what if we used a naturally sweet vegetable, which would allow us to reduce the added sugar down to nearly nothing? And thus, the baked BBQ zucchini chip was born! It was a huge hit with the BBQ-potatochip-lovers in my house. And here’s the really good news: You don’t need any special equipment to make this happen. Use a knife and slice relatively thin, and that’s fine. In fact, the slices are better and sturdier when they aren’t too thin anyway. I do recommend using a baking rack, only because the chips will dry out faster and more evenly. But, even this is optional equipment—just use parchment paper on a tray, cook a little longer, and flip the chips halfway through cook time if you don’t have a rack. Kale chip, move over. Food Network star Melissa d’Arabian is an expert on healthy eating on a budget. She is the author of the cookbook “Supermarket Healthy.” From The Associated Press MELISSA D’ARABIAN VIA AP
Redefining Traditional Spanish Cuisine
RECIPE
• Fine dining experience inspired by the distinctive culinary-rich regions of Spain.
BAKED BBQ-FLAVORED ZUCCHINI CHIPS
• Seasonal menu reflecting the bounty of fresh, local ingredients.
• Top-quality ingredients expanding on the rich, healthy profiles of the Mediterranean diet. • Exciting selection of Spanish wines, cavas, and cocktails.
Prep & Cooking Time: 2 1/2 hours Serves: 4 • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika • 1 teaspoon chipotle or ancho chili powder (or plain chili powder) • 1 teaspoon brown sugar • 1 teaspoon kosher salt • 2 large zucchini • 2 teaspoons olive oil
DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 200 F. In a small bowl, stir together the smoked paprika, chili powder, brown sugar, and salt and set aside. Slice the zucchini thinly, about 1/16 of an inch, but not paper thin. You can use a mandolin, but slicing by hand is just fine. Don’t worry if you can’t quite get the slices super thin. Place the zucchini slices
in a large bowl, and blot with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Drizzle with olive oil and toss the slices to coat. Sprinkle with the spice mixture and toss to coat. Line two or three large baking sheets with baking racks, and spray briefly with nonstick spray. Spread out zucchini slices and bake until dry and slightly crispy, about two hours. Allow to cool on rack before removing. Best eaten the same day. Note: Instead of a baking rack, you may instead line the baking trays with parchment paper, in which case flip the chips about one hour into cooking, and note that chips will require about 30 extra minutes of bake time. Recipe by Melissa d’Arabian
246 E. 44th Street AlcalaRestaurant.com • (212) 370-1866
D8
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com AP PHOTO/CHRIS O’MEARA, FILE
Chef Marcella Hazan in the kitchen of her Longboat Key, Fla., home in 2012.
We, at Hatsuhana, realize that it is rare to find a “no gimmicks, no frills” approach to sushi. Sushi is a conceptually simple cuisine. Ironically, its simplicity also makes it complicated. Hatsuhana salutes the centuries-old methods used by prominent sushi restaurants and chefs in Japan. P H O T O S : E DWA R D D A I
Obsessive Attention to Detail T
he single inspiration that lead to the establishment of Hatsuhana was nothing more than the desire to introduce unsurpassed sushi and sashimi to New Yorkers. Since the first day we opened our doors in 1976, we have been a sushi specialty restaurant. This has helped us maintain our focus exclusively on sushi cuisine.
212.355.3345 www.hatsuhana.com 17 East 48th St, New York (btwn. Madison & Fifth Ave.)
Nearly four decades later, our mission remains unchanged. Obsessive attention to detail should be the norm for sushi restaurants, not something to strive for. The complexity associated with creating the ideal sushi rice. The fragrance of freshly ground wasabi. The freshest fish from around the globe. Please come by for lunch or dinner and let us show you what real sushi is like!
In ‘Ingredienti,’ Victor Hazan Channels Late Wife Marcella SCRIBNER VIA AP
By Danica Kirka For a long time after his wife died, Victor Hazan couldn’t bear to read the notebooks that contained her final book. He would open a cover, look at her distinctive handwriting and find it too painful to go on. Marcella Hazan, the famed cookbook writer, had broken her right arm as a child, and the bone was set so badly that she had to write with her left hand. Her script resembled the writing of a small child. Facing it would mean facing her. The notebooks stayed closed. “Handwriting is a mirror of a person’s soul,” Victor said. “It was a trauma for me.” And then, about a year after Marcella died in 2013, Victor had dinner with a friend who asked about the notebooks. Victor remembered the large espresso he would bring Marcella as she wrote. He remembered how she labored in her final working days to finish the book. It meant something to her. He turned the cover and began working on “Ingredienti,” published July 12 by Scribner. “I couldn’t help bringing the book to life,” said Victor, 88. “For her.” “Ingredienti” isn’t so much a cookbook as it is a manual, with evocative descriptions, about choosing even commonplace ingredients with care. The section on sage describes “its soft, furry gray-green leaves.” The pages on thyme note its fragrance, “suave, cool, and penetrating.” It includes sweeping thoughts on how to use produce, but this isn’t a collection of recipes with ingredients in one column and preparation instructions in the other. It is about buying the best possible meat, vegetables, and herbs and using them without fuss. The small white volume epitomizes Marcella’s lifelong devotion to simplicity. Most of her recipes use only a handful of ingredients, a byproduct of growing up in Italy with limited means and cooking with as little as possible. She constantly stripped away the unnecessary to get to the essential, letting components speak for themselves. In the book, she describes having a “relationship” with her ingredients. “I thought about them, even when I wasn’t shopping for them,” she wrote. “I thought about their fragrance, their color, their texture, their flavor. In the market, I loved to pick them up, which I would not have been permitted to do at any produce stall in Italy, inspect them, test them for firmness, admire their freshness, smell them.” While writing about food was Marcella’s life, it was Victor’s life too. Throughout her long career, he deciphered her tight round letters and translated them into English, ensuring that her precise instructions for everything from a three-ingredient tomato sauce to polenta shortcake could be followed by generations of cooks. Victor says Marcella was the genius; he just helped. But they did everything together— talked about ingredients, discussed flavors and combinations. Much of their 60 years of marriage revolved around the kitchen. Opening the notebooks was a struggle because a huge piece of his life disappeared when she died. But as he summoned the courage to work, their life together returned to him—a parting gift few in his place receive. “Those notebooks were very much alive. The handwriting was alive, the descriptions were alive. For well over a year, Marcella was alive to me,” he said. “This was a great privilege.” Victor lived vicariously through her descriptions, cooking her recipes, making dozens of decisions a cook faces in preparing a dish.
“Ingredienti,” a new book created by Victor Hazan using the notebooks left by his late wife, Marcella Hazan. BARBARA BANKS/SCRIBNER VIA AP
Victor Hazan with his wife, the late Marcella Hazan, who was a famed cookbook writer. Cooking, Victor points out, is not baking. It’s not an absolute science. When, for example, is the right moment to turn off the heat when braising chicken? When is it the correct color of brown? He often wondered what she would have said. “It never really tasted the way Marcella would make it,” he said. “She cooked as an artist might paint.” But he kept at it during a sentimental and emotional year. He remembered watching her in the kitchen. He relived their days, one dish at a time. “I would talk aloud to Marcella in the kitchen and say, ‘This is as close as I could do to make it.’” Marcella and Victor were born in small villages near Ravenna, Italy. He moved to the United States before World War II, returning to Italy when he was 23. They met at a beach town near their homes, married in 1955, and moved to New York, where Victor worked for a family fur business. Marcella began teaching cooking in their apartment. She had one Italian cookbook and a few recipes her mother had sketched out. But what she lacked in formal culinary training, she made up for with her palate. She was precise, uncompromising, and impatient, but she liked to teach and to share. In 1973, she published “The Classic Italian Cook Book,” followed by five more cookbooks and a memoir. Even though Victor was the conduit for her words, it is Marcella’s sometimes irritable voice that comes through. “I hope people understand that there may be angles that are sharp, but they come from a gem,” Victor says. “She was a gem. Every one of her facets projected light.” From The Associated Press
D9
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com
Flavor Pork Chops With a Buttermilk Marinade
An Authentic Bit of Tokyo in Midtown West
SARA MOULTON VIA AP
By Sara Moulton Summertime and the living is easy. Dinners can be casual, thrown together at the last minute. But when the kids start heading back to school, it’s time to switch gears; dinner usuWhip up the ally needs to be planned and marinade in the punctual. morning, and cook This recipe fits nicely into these pork chops that back-to-school tempo. for dinner in just It requires five minutes in 10 minutes. the morning whipping up a buttermilk marinade for the chops and 10 minutes to cook in the evening. The chops in question are crosscut slices of pork loin, also known as boneless pork chops. I recommend the really thin ones, no more than half-an-inch thick, which helps the marinade work its deep magic. This cut of meat is very lean. That’s good because the chops are low in saturated fat; that’s bad because the lack of fat translates into a lack of moisture and a lack of flavor. But not to worry—this recipe’s buttermilk marinade picks up the slack. Prep & Cooking Time: 8 hours, I was inspired by our friends below the 15 minutes (15 minutes active) Mason-Dixon line, who like to soak their Serves: 4–6 chicken in buttermilk before frying it. Then • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk I added salt, which helps protein retain liquid • 2 tablespoons chipotle hot while deeply flavoring it. Finally, I threw in sauce (optional) smashed garlic cloves and some chipotle hot • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt sauce. The hot sauce provides a tiny bit of the • 2 garlic cloves, smashed well advertised heat along with some lip-smack• 1 1/2 pounds thin ing smokiness. (If your family is anti-spicy, (about 1/3–1/2-inch thick) leave it out.) boneless pork chops The chops are coated in a mixture of panko • 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs breadcrumbs, which provide crunch, and sea• 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread soned breadcrumbs, which glue all the breadcrumbs crumbs together. Top with some chopped • 5 tablespoons olive or parsley and serve with a wedge of lemon. vegetable oil It’s important to cook the chops until they’re • 1/3 cup finely chopped just pink, otherwise, they’ll be tough.
•
Sara Moulton is the host of public television’s “Sara’s Weeknight Meals.” She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows, including “Cooking Live.” Her latest cookbook is “Home Cooking 101.” From The Associated Press
parsley • 4–6 lemon wedges
DIRECTIONS In a pie plate or re-sealable plastic bag, combine the buttermilk, hot sauce, salt and garlic, whisking the mixture in the bowl or shaking the mixture in the bag until the salt is
Shimizu Sushi & Shochu Bar • ShimizuSushiNY.com
ALL NATURAL ORGANIC YOUNG CHICKEN BROTH NO MSG•EVERYTHING HOMEMADE Hinata’s Special
Soupless Cold Tantan Ramen
100% VEGAN RAMEN
$14.50 Summer Special until end of Sept.
Also Available
dissolved. Add the chops, making sure they are submerged in the liquid, and marinate them, covered or sealed, in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours. On a sheet of parchment combine the panko and the dry bread crumbs. Working with one chop at a time, lift it out of the marinade letting the excess marinade drip off; coat the chop well with the bread crumbs. In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil over high heat until it is hot. Reduce the heat to medium and add half the chops. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes, add another tablespoon of the oil and turn the chops over, cooking them on the second side for another 1 1/2 minutes or until they are barely pink inside. Transfer the chops to a plate; cover with foil to keep them warm. Repeat the procedure with the remaining oil and chops.
Mention EPOCH and Get One FREE Topping
&
Healthy Natural
OPEN 7 Days M-F 11:30am-11:30pm Sat 12:00pm-11:30pm Sun 4:00pm-11:30pm
HINATA RAMEN
HinataRamen.com 159 East 55th St. (b/w Lex. & 3rd ave) • 212.355.2974
TACOS All day, every day
A huge selection of Tacos, made the traditional way with authentic fillings and flavors such as:
Top each portion with some chopped parsley; serve with a wedge of lemon. Recipe by Sara Moulton
A Summer Take on Peak Season Salmon AP PHOTO/KATIE WORKMAN
By Katie Workman It’s amazing how the weather dictates what we want to eat, isn’t it? Even if you’re not consciously trying to cook with the seasons, you want braises and stews when it’s cool out, and food that is lighter and brighter when it’s warm. This decidedly warm-weather salmon is bathed in an oliveoil-and-herb mixture and cooked at a fairly low temperature to let it cook through without browning, and give it a very tender texture. Then it’s perched on a pile of spring-y greens—you can use any baby lettuce mix you like, or create your own. Mix that with a pile of additional fresh herbs, toss with some fresh lemon juice and good olive oil, and the whole thing tastes like late spring has willed itself into a meal. Would I eat this in November? Sure. But I am craving it now. Sometimes I like salmon to be browned and crispy, but in this case I was going for a more delicate, poached texture so the herbs would retain their color, and the whole dish would be soft and gentle. Summer is peak season for wild Alaskan salmon, which has a more pronounced salmon flavor than farm-raised; I used Coho salmon here, with a deep, rich, reddish-orange color. Grab it when you see it. You could cook the salmon ahead of time and let it cool to room temperature. Then dress and assemble the salads
Find us in the Washington Jefferson Hotel
318 W. 51st St. (btw. 8th & 9th avenues) • (212) 581-1581
RECIPE
CRISPY BUTTERMILK SOAKED PORK CHOPS
The freshest sushi made the traditional, simple way by master chef Shimizu • Shochu & sake • Exceptional value
CARNITAS BISTEC OREJA LENGUA AND MORE!
We also serve torta sandwiches!
Did we mention they start at $3?
Taqueria Tehuitzingo
695 10th Ave (@ 48th St.) • 578 W. 9th. Ave (Btw 41st & 42nd St)
646-707-3916 • TaqueriaTehutzingo.com Hours Daily 11:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m.
just before cooking, which makes this a great recipe for a relaxed summer lunch. Katie Workman has written two cookbooks focused on easy, family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” Classic Margherita Pizza
From The Associated Press
RECIPE HERBED SALMON OVER A GREEN, HERBY SALAD Prep & Cooking Time: About 35 minutes Serves: 4 For the Salmon • Four 6-ounce salmon fillets • 5 scallions, white and light green parts only, cut into 1-inch pieces • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil • 3 tablespoons fresh dill sprigs • 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves • 1/2 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt, plus more to taste For the Salad • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil • Kosher salt to taste • 6 cups baby salad mix, or a mix of purslane, butter lettuce, Boston lettuce, and mache, for example
• 1/2 cup whole fresh parsley leaves • 1/4 cup sliced chives
DIRECTIONS Preheat the oven to 300 F. Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray, or lightly oil the pan. Place the salmon fillets in the pan. In a small food processor, blend together the scallions, 1/3 cup olive oil, dill, 1/4 cup parsley leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spread the mixture over the salmon, and bake for about 16 to 18 minutes, just until the salmon is barely cooked through and flakes easily. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan, until just warm. For the salad, in a large bowl, mix together the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, plus salt to taste. Add the lettuces, 1/2 cup parsley leaves and chives, and toss. Divide the salad between 4 plates and place a piece of salmon atop each pile of greens, removing the skin if you wish. Serve while the salmon is warm, or at room temperature if you prefer. Recipe by Katie Workman
Arugula, Garlic & Sunny Side Eggs Pizza
“the pizza is super thin-crust, crispy and delicious. you can smell the wood burning stove a block away...” ZAGAT USER
Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini & Olives Pizza
“The wood fired oven along with the homemade cheese just can’t be beat. ” PM
“Love it. Thin crust, very good choice of topping. Unbeatable Beer pitcher price.” CB
PIZZA LOVE Cut fresh herbs onto your amazing wood fired oven pizza. Made in just 5–7 minutes.
800 6th Ave (btwn 27th & 28th St) (212) 213-5042
WaldysPizza.com
D10
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com ANNIE WU/EPOCH TIMES
ANNIE WU/EPOCH TIMES
Yes, mashed potatoes is exactly what you need on your pizza—with bacon for good measure.
Claire’s Corner Copia serves healthy, satisfying vegetarian fare like this Seasonal Goodness sandwich with greens, pesto ricotta, mozzarella, and poached egg. COURTESY OF MARKET NEW HAVEN
An aerial view of the New Haven Green, a park in downtown New Haven. It hosts outdoor festivals during the summer.
Mashed potato and bacon pie (L) and mozzarella, tomato, and basil pie at Bar, a new-school pizza joint and bar in New Haven, Conn.
Getting Schooled Lessons in History, in New Haven Culture, and Food
ARTS AND CULTURE Yale University Art Gallery Being the home of Yale University also means the city possesses some prized cultural institutions. Yale University Art Gallery’s collection contains as much breadth as a world-class museum like The Met, but its more manageable size allows visitors to peruse it in an afternoon. A permanent exhibit with artifacts from Dura-Europos: Excavating Antiquity, an ancient Middle Eastern city where different religions peacefully co-existed, and another on ancient Andean textiles, on show until Sept. 18, until are exceptional treasures.
By Annie Wu | Epoch Times Staff
SO FRESH!
N
Authentic & Delicious Tacos Huaraches Chile Relleno Chilaquile Rojos Made to order
Come enjoy cuisine from the most savory region in Mexico...Puebla! 60 E. Third St. (between First & Second avenues) 646-692-9268 • eldiablitotaqueria.com
Pizza Suprema was voted the best. *
AS SEEN ON: The Rachael Ray Show, The Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, and Daily News. Come and try for yourself. We are just beside Madison Square Garden. Since 1964.
Pizza Suprema 413 8th Ave. New York, NY 10001 (212) 594-8939
Awarded One of the 10
BEST PIZZAS IN NYC
Diagonally across from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. *Slice Harvester 2011, selected for the plain slice.
With more people moving downtown, exciting eateries have sprung up.
Yale Center for British Art Right across the street is the Yale Center for British Art, with a vast collection of paintings and sculptures beginning from the medieval period, housed in an airy space. Several of landscape painter J.M.W. Turner’s masterpieces are displayed in an eye-opening exhibit that traces how British artwork evolved along with tumultuous events in the empire’s history.
ANNIE WU/EPOCH TIMES
Colin Hagendorf, a New York native, sampled every slice of pizza in Manhattan for his blog. All 375 of them.
EW HAVEN, Conn.— In New Haven, you can easily find something to whet your intellectual appetite. The city’s connection to Yale University has always imbued its streets with arts and culture. For many years crime and urban decay dominated the landscape, but after decades of economic investment, the college town has reemerged as a cultural destination. Beginning in the 1980s, private developers bought vacant buildings in downtown, hoping to revive the area. Factories that made up New Haven’s old economy were converted into apartments. With more people moving downtown, exciting eateries have sprung up. Some are preparing food in ways common to big city restaurants: baking their own breads (G Cafe Bakery), smoking their own meats (Ordinary), using French techniques with a range of American flavors (Atelier Florian), and employing cheesemongers to assemble cheese plates (Caseus Fromagerie & Bistro). Colin Caplan, a New Haven native, has seen this transformation firsthand. But he also recalls experiencing the city differently from what was portrayed on the news. “There was always a sense of community. We knew all of our neighbors,” he said. Caplan has fond memories of growing up in a friendly neighborhood filled with people of different backgrounds who came to the city in search of opportunities: a print shop owner, a grocer, a white collar worker. He decided to start a food tour business called Taste of New Haven to “bring positive light to New Haven when there were so many bad stories coming out,” he said. As Caplan takes visitors through the streets, he unveils a town not only filled with culinary thrills but also history and culture, exploring neighborhoods like Wooster Square, an old Italian enclave, and Ninth Square, a historic district. Along the way insightful tidbits about the city are revealed. For example, New Haven is the first planned city in the United States (in 1638, for a nine-block grid). It was where the first telephone conversation was tested. It was also home to the original site of the Culinary Institute of America, founded by two women who wanted to help returning World War II veterans find jobs in the restaurant industry. On College Street, the Shubert Theater debuted “The Sound of Music” and “A Streetcar Named Desire,” starring a young Marlon Brando.
Heirloom’s Strawberry Float, a glorious concoction of strawberry soda, buttermilk gelato, and lemon poppy cake.
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History If you’re more of a science geek, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History will impress with its dinosaur exhibit, complete with the biggest dinosaur mural in the world and original fossils that several dinosaur species were named after. This year, the museum celebrates its 150th anniversary with an exhibit highlighting the finds Yale researchers brought back from their historical expeditions. GOOD EATS Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana Frank Pepe’s is the originator of New Havenstyle pizza, or “apizza” (pronounced “a-beets”) as locals call it: pizza with a paper-thin crust— beautifully charred, super crunchy—and sold by the pie. In the early 20th century, immigrants from southern Italy settled in New Haven for manufacturing jobs. Some opened up bakeries and began selling flattened dough with tomato sauce for take-out. In 1925, Frank Pepe, an immigrant from Maiori, on the Amalfi coast of Italy, was among the first to open a spot dedicated to pizza with sitdown tables. Gary Bimonte, Pepe’s grandson and the fourth generation owner of the pizzeria, says the historic coal-fired oven gives the pies their unique char and flavor. The white clam pizza, with freshly shucked Long Island Sound clams and generous amounts of garlic and oregano, is a must-try. If you on Caplan’s tour, you’ll get to go behind the counter and watch the pizza-making process.
D11
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com ANNIE WU/EPOCH TIMES
The Chicken and Waffles dish at Elm City Social is elevated with whipped whiskey butter and blackberry jam. ANNIE WU/EPOCH TIMES
John Davenport’s serves hearty breakfast dishes like this Eggs in a Nest, eggs in brioche with applewood-smoked bacon and potatoes.
Louis Lunch America has a German immigrant, Louis Lassen, to thank for inventing the hamburger. Lassen slapped a patty between two slices of toast for a customer on the go, and the rest is history. Louis Lunch is an old-school joint (established in 1895) that doesn’t mess around. To give you the unadulterated taste of the patty—cooked in vertical cast-iron grills that have been in use since the 1890s—the shop won’t serve you ketchup or mustard. Get “the works” (melted cheese, tomatoes, and onions) and you’ll be rewarded with one of the best burgers you’ll ever have.
aromatic truffle and thyme. You’ll want to smear the ricotta all over pieces of toast. Entrees like the Pan-Seared Striped Bass celebrate vegetables alongside the protein. The dish includes flavorful microgreens, tender summer squashes, and a corn-oregano puree resembling Southeast Asian curry. Don’t skip dessert. You’ll have a hard time choosing between a luscious butterscotch pudding; a delightful pina-colada-esque pineapple upside down cobbler with coconut gelato and vanilla rum butter toffee; or the bubbly strawberry float filled with strawberry soda, buttermilk gelato, and lemon poppy cake.
Bar Among the new-school pizza shops, Bar stands out for its utterly different approach. The pies are baked in a gas-fired oven for soft, pliable, and saucy pies perfect for its wide variety of toppings. The signature mashed potato and bacon toppings are unexpected but satisfying in every way; get this combo on a white pie with parmesan and garlic. Bar also has a selection of housebrewed beers to wash down the pizza.
Claire’s Corner Copia Owner and chef Claire Criscuolo has been serving wholesome, flavorful vegetarian fare at her restaurant since 1975. Her passion for feeding people healthy food has fueled a menu filled with organic vegetables and whole wheat breads. The Seasonal Goodness sandwich, for example, leaves you feeling virtuous and satiated with sauteed greens, pesto ricotta, poached egg, and mozzarella on a whole wheat English muffin.
Elm City Social Elm City Social brings American comfort food dishes up a notch, with flavor bombs like Farm Bird Lollipops, with a Sriracha buffalo sauce that will give your lips a numbing buzz; buttery Elm City Street Corn with roasted garlic aioli, Parmesan, and smoked paprika; and Chicken and Waffles with a thinly breaded cutlet, whipped whiskey butter, and sweet blackberry jam to cut through the savory richness.
WHERE TO STAY The Study at Yale Hotel The Study is modern and chic, with an overtly studious vibe: the logo is a pair of glasses, the lobby features a filled bookcase, and the bellboys are dressed in a Yale baseball cap and polo T-shirt.
Heirloom Heirloom, located inside The Study Hotel, does farm-to-table with finesse. Start off with the Warm Local Ricotta, blended with funky,
Experience Firsthand the Romance of the Korean Dynasty South Korean top chef Sunkyu Lee cooks authentic Korean royal court cuisine Totally different and distinctive cuisines and interior designs on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors.
Omni New Haven Hotel The Omni offers panoramic views of the city from its 19th floor, which also houses a restaurant serving New England-style fare, John Davenport’s. For more information on visiting New Haven, see infonewhaven.com ANNIE WU/EPOCH TIMES
212-594-4963
Pan-Seared Striped Bass with a creamy, spicy corn-oregano purée at farm-to-table restaurant Heirloom.
10 W. 32 St., New York, NY 10001 www.misskoreaBBQ.com Open 24 hours
D12
@EpochTaste
July 15–21, 2016 www.EpochTaste.com
6 Strategies to Make Your Next Family Road Trip a Joy JAYSI/SHUTTERSTOCK
By Barbara Danza | Epoch Times Staff For some parents the idea of a long family road trip brings on feelings of dread. Such excursions have gone awry before and while they hope this next trip will be different, they’re not optimistic. They picture a lot of complaining and bickering and exhaustion before they even arrive at their destination. If this sounds familiar, here are some strategies to try the next time your family is heading out on an adventure, whether simply going to Grandma’s house or venturing across the country. Set Behavior Expectations Ahead of Time This is an often overlooked step, but sitting your kids down for an open-hearted discussion about what you expect from them and what they can expect from you and the trip you’re about to take can alleviate much aggravation. Try to communicate when you’ll be stopping for snacks, how much time (if any) you’ll allow them to watch a movie or utilize digital devices, how long the trip will take, and the route you’ll be taking. Encourage them to think of ways they can plan to enjoy the ride. Enjoy the Journey You’ve likely put a lot of thought into what you’ll do when you arrive at your destination, but don’t discount the opportunity that the journey itself presents. If you’re traveling over a distance that will require some stops, identify enjoyable places along the way to linger and enjoy as a family. It doesn’t have to be just about food and fuel, and you may not have to be in such a hurry. Rather than maintaining focus on the destination and just plowing through the trip, begin enjoying the experience the moment you set off. After all, life’s a journey, not a destination. Create Individual Travel Binders Part on-the-go-scrapbook, part vacation activity book, give each child a binder loaded with supplies to create with during the journey. Keep everything in one place by adding different blank papers, a three-hole pencil case full of colored pencils and dryerase markers, stickers, and sheet protectors. Pocket inserts for collecting postcards and treasures along the way are also fun. Find online printables that relate to your destination. Insert maps and activity sheets into the sheet protectors for use with dry erase markers. Encourage free creativity as your children experience new things. If they have their own cameras, they can design pages that future printed pictures can be placed on. Other fun activities to search for are license plate and state
bird checklists. You can also make your own list of landmarks you’ll see along the way. Listen to Audiobooks Together Rather than having the kids disconnect from you and watch a movie with their headphones on, or allowing everyone to be individually consumed by their devices, try listening to an audiobook as a family. This is a great way to introduce your kids to excellent literature. Additionally, everyone will be able to focus on the story while not missing what’s happening out the window. My family has enjoyed many, and “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis is still our favorite. Stock the Car Be sure you’ve got all you need for a smooth ride, including a wellstocked first aid kit, a flashlight and batteries, plenty of drinks and snacks, books, a place to throw away garbage, hand wipes, paper towels, pillows, blankets, favorite stuffed animals, and any other comfort items that will help your kids along the way. Sprinkle in Some Buffer Time and a Boatload of Patience As you map out your itinerary, be sure not to schedule every minute so strictly that veering off schedule will cause you and your family angst. You will veer off schedule. Some things will not go according to plan. If you allow for plenty of extra time, you’ll be open to serendipity and your experience will be a calmer and more enjoyable one for all. Kick perfectionism to the curb and enjoy the blessing of this time together with your family.
Cuyahoga Valley, a National Park in Cleveland’s Backyard AP PHOTO/BETH J. HARPAZ, FILE
Beth J. Harpaz
Venture Into Thailand’s
Spicy Northeast
at
ESANATION Authentic Thai cuisine sure to delight your adventurous senses!
• 14 types of unbelievable Som Tum (papaya salad). • Gang Om soup that pulls a straight punch to the throat. • Whole Cornish hen, fried to a golden crispiness, with the most addictive dipping sauce. • Yentafo Noodle soup, an authentic standout.
Chef Wanlapha Techama was the sous chef responsible for Esan specialties at Queens restaurant Zabb Elee when it received a Michelin star last year.
ESANATION 750 9th Avenue • New York, NY 10019 (btw. 50th & 51st streets) 212-315-0555 • esanation.com
SAGAMORE HILLS, Ohio—It’s America’s 11th most-visited national park, but it’s also a place many people have never heard of: Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. Nearly 2.3 million people visited Cuyahoga in 2015, putting it right behind better-known parks like Glacier National Park in Montana and Acadia National Park in Maine. But if you’re not from Ohio or nearby, you’d be forgiven for knowing a lot less about Cuyahoga than you do about Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. And while Cuyahoga doesn’t have the dramatic features that typically draw visitors to national parks—no volcanoes, glaciers, or geysers here—it does offer something that can be hard to find: an opportunity to immerse yourself in nature just minutes from densely populated cities. “We’ve got this amazing, peaceful, beautiful area carved out and protected between these large urban areas, Cleveland, and Akron,” said Deb Yandala, CEO of the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which raises several million dollars a year for the park. “I think when people hear ‘national parks,’ they think of the big Western parks,” she added. “But not everyone is going to get out to Yellowstone or Glacier or Zion. For us to have a national park right in our backyard is amazing. We are part of a new breed of parks, bringing national parks to urban populations.” In general the park is both also extremely safe and heavily used, despite an incident in which a shooting victim was found in the park over the July Fourth weekend. Police described that as an isolated incident. Cuyahoga Valley became a national recreation area in 1974 and a national park in 2000, so it’s one of the National Park Service’s newer parks. The park has 100 miles of trails across 33,000 acres, including 20 miles of a restored towpath, perfect for biking, that follows the Ohio & Erie Canal. (The towpath was originally laid as a pathway for horses or mules towing barges.) The park is also home to restored historic farms and a large farmers market, both connected to the Cuyahoga Valley’s history as an agricultural region supplying food to Cleveland and Akron. Other activities and attractions include concerts, a historic railroad that offers scenic tours and a variety of other programs. The park is often mentioned as a top spot for fall foliage, and one of its loveliest spots is Brandywine Falls, a 65-foot-tall waterfall
Visitors on a walkway overlooking Brandywine Falls at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Sagamore Hills, Ohio.
AP PHOTO/MARK DUNCAN, FILE
The towpath trail along the Ohio & Erie Canal (bottom R) in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, emerging from the woodlands to a view of industrial Cleveland.
easily reached from a parking lot via a wooden walkway. But Cuyahoga has not always been associated with outdoor recreation and scenic beauty: The river was so polluted in the 20th century that it repeatedly caught fire, including two major fires in 1952 and 1969. News coverage of the 1969 blaze helped spur cleanup efforts. “We’re now doing kayaking on the Cuyahoga River, which would have been unheard of years ago,” said Yandala. Only about 20 percent of Cuyahoga’s visitors are from outside Ohio, but that could change this summer when Cleveland hosts the Republican National Convention. “The world will be looking at Cleveland during the convention,” Yandala said. “It’s a terrific comeback story of an industrial city that has a really great vibe these days”—a vibe that includes a national park in the city’s backyard. IF YOU GO... Cuyahoga Valley National Park: nps.gov/cuva. Free admission. The Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park lists 100 things to do at conservancyforcvnp.org. Depending on route and destination, you can reach the park in 20–30 minutes from downtown Cleveland. Brandywine Falls: 8176 Brandywine Road, Sagamore Hills Township, Ohio, near exit 147 from I-77 South. From The Associated Press